Centuries of work left for WWII bomb clearers

Swiss Politics ^ | 8/3/03 | Philip Blenkinsop

[Slings and Arrows]

Problem solved.

[RS]

"At present, it covers only clearing German arms at an annual cost of 45 million euros. Brandenburg says with the inclusion of Allied bombs, the bill would double. "

Why does my wallet flinch when I read a sentance like this ?

[Threepwood]

*Second* world war munition? The French are still trying to clean up the Somme valley, and the area around Verdun is a complete write-off. I doubt they'll ever get it cleaned up.

[Slings and Arrows]

*Second* world war munition? The French are still trying to clean up the Somme valley, and the area around Verdun is a complete write-off. I doubt they'll ever get it cleaned up.

See the link in post #2.

[Lazamataz]

"We've told the Polish authorities, so they won't be worried we're planning to invade again," joked bomb disposal expert Ralf Kirschnick as he inspected shards of metal after a controlled explosion on the German bank of the River Oder.

Yah, yer a laugh-riot, Fritz.

Hundreds of thousands of dead Polish people are yukking it up as we speak.

[Damagro]

I'm not sure why, but I find no sympathy for these folks

[kms61]

During WWI the allies dug five huge tunnels under the German side of the Ypres Salient, and packed then with a few hundred thousand pounds of explosives. They set three of them off. Two were left undetonated. One was set off by an electrical storm during the Sixties. The other one is still there waiting.

[LibWhacker]

Me either, because of 1) numerous German pogroms throughout history, including 2) WWI and 3) WWII, and finally, 4) Iraq. And that's just off the top of my head.

[Michael81Dus]

So, did I get that right? Foreigners may make jokes about WWII (e.g. the lame joke about the Germans invading France march in shade), but Germans may not?

WWII was a fair war, at least for the military. (The bombings of civilians, mass-slaughtering of innocent people and expelling of people is not the military part of the war.)

Poland had the chance to defend itself, just as France and all the others had and in the last years, Germany too.

[Az Joe]

Well, that settles it. IT WAS WRONG TO INVADE EUROPE!!

[LibWhacker]

Foreigners may make jokes about WWII (e.g. the lame joke about the Germans invading France march in shade), but Germans may not?

Of course not! If I had been a follower of Charles Manson, wouldn't you say it'd be a bit tacky for me to joke about Sharon Tate?

[Geritol]

If only the west had not lost WWII. We basically went in to free Poland, then deeded it to Russia and millions more died. The Pacific theater went rather better though...

[Threepwood]

Oh Geez. That's not positive, any plans afoot to dig it out or detonate it safely?

[kms61]

No, I don't think it's possible to do anything with it safely. I read about it in "A Storm In Flanders," a history of WWI in the Ypres Salient, by Winston Groom. He's the guy who wrote Forrest Gump, and is also quite a good military historian.

As I recall, this thing is a tunnel a couple of miles long, packed with many tons of something similar to ammonium nitrate. I'm not sure anybody even knows *exactly* where it is on the battlefield at this point.

[Lazamataz]

So, did I get that right? Foreigners may make jokes about WWII (e.g. the lame joke about the Germans invading France march in shade), but Germans may not?

Correct. The perpetrator of a crime should not joke about the crime. You never mention a rope if you've been the leader of a lynching.

Where may I send the invoice for your very first lesson in Human Etiquette?

[Lazamataz]

Also:

WWII was a fair war, at least for the military. (The bombings of civilians, mass-slaughtering of innocent people and expelling of people is not the military part of the war.)

Yet, those decisions were made by your top military leader of the time. Furthermore, those decisions were manifested using military personnel.

No, the bombing of civilians, mass-slaughtering of innocent people, and the expelling of people were all 100% military actions. Unfortunately, you may not compartmentalize like that in order to appease your collective conscious.

[Michael81Dus]

Would you please decide wether Germans may make jokes about WW2?

Personally, I will make jokes about these wars, and these jokes are no offenses for the deads and victims.

Obviously, the mass-slaughtering, bombings and expellings were military actions, but not in the military part of the war. My Grand-Pas had nothing to do with these actions. They even didn´t know it. The one fought in Russia as a tank engineer and the other was sailor.

I have every right to make the same jokes like anyone else. And I have noone to apologize for my words. For me, the comment of my fellow-citizen ("we informed the Polish authorities...") is funny.

It was war, and it was a war without NBC-weapons. All parties had the fair chance to defend themselves. And with parties, I explicitly do not refer to civilians.

There is no collective guilt. Otherwise I´d advise you to send a bill to the grand-grand-grand-sons of former slaves. MY society has paid for the crimes... like no other offensive people had done before.

Btw, WW1 was NOT the fault of the Germans alone. It was the fault of whole Europe. All Europeans wanted that war in 1914, and they celebrated the beginning in London, Berlin, Paris and Moscow.

[Lazamataz]

Would you please decide wether Germans may make jokes about WW2?

They may not.

Personally, I will make jokes about these wars, and these jokes are no offenses for the deads and victims.

That is because you are a tactless boor.

Obviously, the mass-slaughtering, bombings and expellings were military actions, but not in the military part of the war.

Denial is not a river in Egypt. They were, by every measure, military actions. The plans were conceived in the military and executed by military personnel for military gain.

My Grand-Pas had nothing to do with these actions. They even didn´t know it. The one fought in Russia as a tank engineer and the other was sailor.

Then they were blameless. They still might want to refrain from Holocaust jokes, though.

I have every right to make the same jokes like anyone else. And I have noone to apologize for my words.

Yes, I do not deny that you have every right to be an offensive clod with utterly no tact whatever.

There is no collective guilt.

Untrue. In America, we bear a certain collective guilt as to the way we dispossessed the Indians from their land and infected their populace with European diseases on purpose. There aren't a lot of 'smallpox in blankets' jokes over here.

Btw, WW1 was NOT the fault of the Germans alone. It was the fault of whole Europe. All Europeans wanted that war in 1914, and they celebrated the beginning in London, Berlin, Paris and Moscow.

Strange.

But we are talking about WWII, and Germany can certainly shoulder much of the blame for that one.

[Hoplite]

C'mon Laz - we don't do collective or inherited responsibility, do we?

Besides, German comedy - any German comedy, should be supported with the full extent of our abilities.

Jerry Lewis must not cross the Rhine!